Improved brick-machine



W uml l tant GEORGE W. MCOANN, or SPRINGFIELD, OHIO.

Lette/rs Patent No; 86,567 dated Fatwa/rg] 2, 1869.

IMPRovED BRICK-MACHINE.

To all whom tt ma/y concern v Be it known that I, GEORGE W. MOOANN, ofSpringeld, in the county of Clark, and State of Ohio, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Brick- Machines; and I do herebydeclare that the following is a full, clear, and exact descriptionthereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making partof this specification, and to the letters of reference marked thereon,like letters indicating like parts wherever they occur.

'Io enable others skilled inthe art to construct and use my invention, Iwill proceed to describe it.

My invention relates to brick-machines of the class used for mouldingwet brick; and consists in the novel construction and arrangement of anishing-plate for giving a smooth and even surface to the top ofthebrick, an adjustable mechanical contrivance for securing any desiredbottom pressure, and certain improvements in the construction of thefollower in the moulds, by which the eficiency of its operation isgreatly increased. y

In the drawings- Figure 1 is a vertical section, through the centre ofthe mould-wheel;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the device' fo'r securing the bottompressure;

Figure 3 is a vertical section, on the line y-y of iig. 2;

Figure 4 is a longitudinal vertical section of the follower, on the linez-z of fig. 5;

Figure 5 is an end view of the follower;

Figure 6 is a top view of the follower; and

Figure 7 is a top plan viewof the finisher.

In constructing my machine, I make .a frame, C, and mount therein thepug-mill B, with the shaft H, hav- Ving arms attached for mixing theclay, and also driving-wheel I, and gear-wheel J.

In the same frame, I also mount the mould-wheel A, with its shaft iK, soas to revolve, in part, under the pug-mill B.

The shaft K has a gear-wheel,L, attached to it,.and is driven by thegear-wheel J, all as shown in g. 1.

The mould-wheel A is provided, near its periphery', with a series ofvertical moulds, extending through it, arranged so as to comesuccessively under an opening in the bottom of the pug-mill, and befilled with the prepared clay.

VIn each of the moulds, I suspend a followerD, of peculia rconstruction, by means of a bolt, e, which passes into the periphery ofthe wheel, and through slots in the follower, as shown in fig. 1.

I construct this follower yD of the proper size to ll the mould, andmove vertically in an easy manner therein. It is made with a vacantspace in its interior, as shown in g. 4, and has its ends slotted, as

shown in iig. 5.'

Within it, and to its lower side, I firmly attach a curved spring, f,the ends of which extend to and move vertically in the slotted ends, asshown in fig. 4, so that, when thefollower rises in the mould, the bolte will press against them, for a purpose hereinafter explained.

In the upper ends of the slotted ends, I'place sete screws g, which canbe adjusted so as to limit the vertical movement of the follower in themould, as desired. i

On the top of the follower I place a removable top piece, M, which hassewed to its upper apd lower sides a piece of heavy felt cloth, h, asshown in iig.' 4, by means of strong thread passing through the holes,shown in iig. 6.

The upper side ofthe main body of the follower I make a littlehollowing, so as to contain a small quantity of il, which saturates thecloth on the lower side of the top pieceM.

The object of this is to keep the moulds oiled, and thus prevent thefollower' from sticking in them, as it is obvious that whenever apressure is brought to bear on the mould, the oil will be forced tothe'edge of the cloth,` and in this way be brought in contact with thewalls of the mould.

Near the bottom of the pug-mill B, and to its side, so as to beimmediately over the moulds, as they come from under it, I attach arigid arm, N, and to this arm connect a finishing-plate, E, by means ofa screw, a, as shown in iig. 1. i

This nishing-plate I make substantially in the form. shown in g. 7. Itslower surface is smooth and level,

while its upper side is provided with a groove, extend-` ing across it,as shown in the same ligure, and has inserted in it a wooden block, t,as shown in figs. 1 and 7. The screw a, which connects the nishing-plateE to the arm N, does so by entering the block t.

Inthe arm N, I also place set-screws j, so that, by means of them, thefinishing-plate E may be adjusted,

and held as rmly to the uppersurface of the mouldwheel as desired.

The obj ect of connecting the nishing-plate E to the arm N, by means ofthe screw a and wooden block t, is to allow the plate to be carriedaway, in the event of its coming in contact with stone or any foreignsubstance that may have got into the mould, and thus protect the machinefrom any serious injury that might otherwise happen.

`In order to secure any desired bottom pressure to the brick,I connectto the shaft K, so as to turn easily about it, and to rest on the licorof the frame supporting the,inclines for giving motion to'the followers,a flat arm, F, long enough to project beyond the periphery of themould-wheel, as shown in fig. 1, and shaped as shown in fig; 2.

It is provided with an annular opening, k, through which the shaft Kpasses, and a slot, l, through which passes a set-screw, el.

On the upper side of this arm, I place an adjustable wedge, Gr, alsoprovided with a slot, m, through which the set-screw dvalso passes.

vThe thin end of this wedge passes under an incline, cfwhich moves uponand is held in place by pins, n, attached to the arm F, as clearly shownin hg. 3.

When the set-screw d is loose, the arm F can be moved laterally adistance equal to the length of the slot l, and the wedge G, in likemanner, a distance equal to the length of the'slot fm.

' The incline c is arranged so that the followerD must pass over it,and, as by these simple devices the incline can be readily adjusted, itis obvious that any desired bottom pressure can be given to the brickwhen or as it passes under the finishing-plate.

In operating my machine, the power is applied in the usual way. Themould-table carries the moulds successively under the pug-mill, wherethey are filled; the inishingplate E Vmakes the upper surface of thebrick even and smooth; the follower, as it passes up and over theadjusted incline, gives the brick the desired bottom pressure.

ter'this is dona/the follower, as the/table con'-V tinues its rotation,is carried up by another incline, not shown, and raises the brick to thesurface of the table, from which it is easily removed.

When the follower is thus carried up by the incline, the springj` comesin contact with the bolt g, and is forced back, but, as it passes overthe incline, its recoil carries the follower down. leaving the mouldready to be filled again.

The cloth on the upper side of the mould not only gives a clean nish Itothe brick, but prevents it from sticking to the follower, while theintervening cloth serves partly as a cushion, as well as to keep themould oiled.

By setting the screws g, the position of the follower can be so changedin the moulds as to make the brick of any desired thickness, as theheads of these' screws rest upon the bolt e, which suspends thefollower.

AHaving thus described my invention,

1. The nishing-plate E, provided with a wooden block, fi, constructedand arranged to operate substantially as herein described, and for thepurposes set forth.

2. The follower D, with its removable top M, covered on both sides withcloth h, and provided with the spring fand set-screws g, constructedandarranged to operate substantially as herein described.

W 3.VY The Yswinging armY Ein combinationwiththe adjustable wedge G andincline c, constructed and arranged-to operate substantially as hereindescribed.

4. The follower D, constructed as herein described, in combination withthey bolt c, fixed transversely in lthe mould, and passing through thefollower, for .the purpose set forth.

The spring f, in combination with the bolt c, for returning the followerto its position, after delivering the brick, constructed and arranged tooperate substantially as described.

6. The set-screws g, in combination with the bolt e, xed transversely inthe mould-wheel, for determining the thickness of `the brick,substantially as described. GEO. W. M CCANN.

Vituesses:

BENJ. KERs'rING, WILLIAM M. MAY.

